Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava”

Ali & Ava (2022)

A social realist romance with optimism despite the difficult and marginalised lives of its protagonists

The interesting thing that this film manages to achieve despite the protagonists’ lives being alien to most is that you feel their worries, doubts and concerns. It’s about two people in transition who live in different worlds socially, musically, financially yet each has something the other has been missing. Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook live their roles as Ali and Ava with a supporting cast that feel equally natural.

Lacking the cynicism of most social realist drama, the film is grounded and favours something a little hopeful but without excess. It’s a charming addition to Barnard’s filmography.